What to look for in a welder for Beginners

[Justin]

What kind of welder should I get for beginner and what to look for in one
There was one welder I saw which could do mig and stick

 

[sea2summit]

I’m teaching myself on stick. I like it a lot. Don’t have a lot to think about other than striking an arc. Lots of arguments for how easy MIG is to learn in but I figure the better arguments are you get a lot more technique with stick. Someday I hope to do aluminum boats so going to TIG more than likely and stick seems to build a lot of that skill.

 

[welding seabee]

Once you master SMAW (stick) the other processes, Mig and Tig have a shorter learning curve, especially positions other than flat. I can almost due SMAW by feel when working in tight places. MIG and TIG torches need a lot more space to maneuver in. SMAW you only have the rod blocking your view. You will never be sorry you learned SMAW if you do any repair work in position. MIG and TIG are fabrication processes in my book.

For starters get a good quality used transformer AC/DC machine and some 3/32 6010 and 6014 rod and some scrap steel. Then practice and practice. You tube videos and/or a good mentor would be an asset.

Ron

 

[harleyron74]

What kind of welder should I get for beginner and what to look for in one
There was one welder I saw which could do mig and stick

Depends on your budget. I have A Hobart mig that is duel voltage and has A spool gun. I use the spool gun for flux core as I do lot's of outdoor welding. I also have A 110V Century that is more of A pain in the butt than it's worth! I bought it new and struggled to learn mig and flux core on it. When my employer bought A Miller mig and I finally got to use A decent machine it was like night and day! I use the Century for spot welding and it works well for that but it just won't run A proper bead for anybody. My father was A ship welder in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond CA. during WW2 and he couldn't make this junk heap run. A friend of mine worked as A barge welder and was stumped as why the Century wouldn't work properly. I keep it around because I don't want to cheat anybody out of their hard earned bread by selling it.
If your budget allows you might consider buying from A welding supply house as you can find parts much easier than buying from A big box store. It appears that the Harbor freight machine's have gotten better though the year's but if they crap out after the warranty is gone where do you go for parts or to get it fixed?
I bought the Hobart because as I am retired and only do my own and friends welding I couldn't justify the price on the Miller machine's. As Hobart is owned by Miller I figured the guts of the machine might be at least similar to the Miller.
Welding supply houses may let you try out A machine before you buy and sometimes they have used machine's on hand. Either trade in's or returned rentals.

 

[welding seabee]

Depends on your budget. I have A Hobart mig that is duel voltage and has A spool gun. I use the spool gun for flux core as I do lot's of outdoor welding. I also have A 110V Century that is more of A pain in the butt than it's worth! I bought it new and struggled to learn mig and flux core on it. When my employer bought A Miller mig and I finally got to use A decent machine it was like night and day! I use the Century for spot welding and it works well for that but it just won't run A proper bead for anybody. My father was A ship welder in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond CA. during WW2 and he couldn't make this junk heap run. A friend of mine worked as A barge welder and was stumped as why the Century wouldn't work properly. I keep it around because I don't want to cheat anybody out of their hard earned bread by selling it.
If your budget allows you might consider buying from A welding supply house as you can find parts much easier than buying from A big box store. It appears that the Harbor freight machine's have gotten better though the year's but if they crap out after the warranty is gone where do you go for parts or to get it fixed?
I bought the Hobart because as I am retired and only do my own and friends welding I couldn't justify the price on the Miller machine's. As Hobart is owned by Miller I figured the guts of the machine might be at least similar to the Miller.
Welding supply houses may let you try out A machine before you buy and sometimes they have used machine's on hand. Either trade in's or returned rentals.

The Century machines are made by Lincoln. I had one and used it but it was the 220 V Machine. I am using an old Miller Thunderbolt AC machjine and it performs very well. Just got an old MW AC/DC 230A that I am cleaning up to replace the Miller. I have had them before. I am partial to the older machine as you can get them pretty reasonable. The MW was at the auction and I bought for $35. Easily get $100-125 for it later. you will never get a spool gun into a tight place for a repair job. They are really a fabricator tool.

Ron

 

[Pequeajim]

Depends on your budget. I have A Hobart mig that is duel voltage and has A spool gun. I use the spool gun for flux core as I do lot's of outdoor welding. I also have A 110V Century that is more of A pain in the butt than it's worth! I bought it new and struggled to learn mig and flux core on it. When my employer bought A Miller mig and I finally got to use A decent machine it was like night and day! I use the Century for spot welding and it works well for that but it just won't run A proper bead for anybody. My father was A ship welder in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond CA. during WW2 and he couldn't make this junk heap run. A friend of mine worked as A barge welder and was stumped as why the Century wouldn't work properly. I keep it around because I don't want to cheat anybody out of their hard earned bread by selling it.
If your budget allows you might consider buying from A welding supply house as you can find parts much easier than buying from A big box store. It appears that the Harbor freight machine's have gotten better though the year's but if they crap out after the warranty is gone where do you go for parts or to get it fixed?
I bought the Hobart because as I am retired and only do my own and friends welding I couldn't justify the price on the Miller machine's. As Hobart is owned by Miller I figured the guts of the machine might be at least similar to the Miller.
Welding supply houses may let you try out A machine before you buy and sometimes they have used machine's on hand. Either trade in's or returned rentals.

Why do you think it is such a poor welder? Is it because it is 110v?

 

[sleepyTYM]

Hi I started with a Lincoln ideal arc in voc school then I purchased a Lincoln 225AC for home and moved my way up. the 225AC welded the best with messier 80T AC+ and 6013 7014 and 7024 and 6011 I pounded a lot of wire with it a great starter welder and you can weld thick steel with it

 

[Beerslayer]

What Welding Seabee said. Learn SMAW (stick). The machines are cheap and after that the rest is easy. I agree with his recommendations for electrodes. That's the basics. And any Seabee has been through it and knows what to do. Just jump in and try it. And take a community college adult education class. They are inexpensive and really fun! You can try all of their machines and get a feel for what you want.

 

[Old Irish]

A mig and stick machine would be a good investment in my opinion but to get one priced like that grizzly is surely Chinese and while that doesn't mean it is bad I do think it requires a little more research, I won't knock chinese machines, I own four of them but I have other machines I can rely on and bought the chinese machines out of curiosity and with the attitude that if they failed I would toss them and loose no sleep over it. check other welding forums and wood working forums( for the Grizzly ) for feed back. Outside of that if you decide on a single process machine what will it's primary use be? if you wan't to make art pieces or projects with light gauge material like stands, furniture and things of that sort in my humble opinion a mig machine is your friend because you can get a decent mig machine for well under a grand that will do all of that and more. A proven multi process machine is going to set you back some change, and when I say proven I don't mean famous like Lincoln, Esab Or Miller I mean one you can go to that has been pushed by someone like Jd Brewer ( you can find him on youtube ) and lived to tell the tale. I would advise anyone to stick with Hobart, Lincoln or Miller unless you can afford to lose your money gambling on a chinese machine or just absolutely can't wait to save the money, I have had 6 and have 4 that work and one of the ones that blew up ( within 2 weeks ) was a well known brand and cost a little better than 800 dollars, pretty high for a chinese welder in those days, or these for that matter. I enjoy tig welding even though I am not that good at it and stick welding is my first love but for the average guy in their home shop mig is so versatile with a lesser learning curve it is hard to beat but on the negative side mig welding is the easiest one to deceive yourself with, you can lay down a really good looking bead with mig only to find you can peel it up with a screw driver because it laid down cold.

 

[kiwistick]

A stick welder is really only a transformer and all are much of a muchness. For DIY you can choose a unit that has a cooling fan, useful if you do big jobs, or one without a fan that will cut out if you weld too long. An essential beginners tool is the auto darkening welsing helmet, makes it so much easier to strike the arc. Another factor is where are you going to plug the machine in? If you have to use a long power cord, you will lose open circuit voltage and have trouble starting the arc. Magnetic clamps make life easier, as well as dry rods. If you have a shaky hand, don't bother.

 

[Old Irish]

I'm glad nobody told me that 40 years ago, I would have never held a torch or struck an arc, I can't remember when my hands didn't shake.

 

[Neivelda]

I started with an old AC welding transformator, a very heavy thing. But i learned to weld with electrodes. Then i learned to weld and solder with Oxygen/Acetylen, also learned to cut. Then i buyed a crappy mig with compact wire 0,6 and 0,8mm. Good for cars, but for repair work on steel constructions its useless. Then i buyed a Kemppi 140A DC welder for electrodes, very happy with that. Then i got hand of a used 180A Norweld mig. Use 1,0mm flux wire and gas. Then i buyed a Plasma cutter with capacity 13mm. Finally i buyed a second hand EWM welding machine. It has 400A capacity and can weld electrodes, Mig and Tig. Only DC. Mig and Tig are watercooled. Very happy with that. So now i just miss a good AC Tig.

 

[kenmbz]

Any recommendations on cheap but functional helmets? Would be a started but I don;t want to waste money buying a second one if the first just doesn't cover basic welding needs.

 

[welding seabee]

Any recommendations on cheap but functional helmets? Would be a started but I don;t want to waste money buying a second one if the first just doesn't cover basic welding needs.

I have had good results with my HF one. Can't buy any cheaper, but it works every time. Ron

 

[Old Irish]

the Vulcan at HF is a good hood and coupons for it are easy to get from the web. I have one and have used it for about 3 years with no complaints. it is equal to the Lincoln Viking in my opinion. the arc-one carrera with a 1000cfc filter is a good hood and I think you can get one from amazon for under 100 dollars. carrara hoods come with different filters and to my eyes the 1000cfc is the clearest. the 1000cfc may be off a letter, I am going by memory. the Esab Sentinel is a really good hood as far as clarity and function go but it is 300 bucks, the batteries in my experience only last 5 or 6 months, even with all that I would still recommend it if the cost isn't a hindrance because it performs really well. I mostly use a pancake with a shade 9 arc-one auto darkening lens and a 2.5 cheater, the advantage to the pancake is that all glare is eliminated which is a big deal to me, I only have one eye and don't see to well with it so every little advantage helps.
Please keep in mind that it is your eyesight that is at stake and if you buy a good hood you may never need to buy another one, I have hoods that are 25 or 30 years old and the first auto darkening hood I ever bought 25 years ago just finally quit on me about 5 or six months ago. another tip is to make a cape off of the back of the hood to block back light, it makes all the difference in the world for me.

ArcOne 1000F-0100 Professional Grade Welding Helmet Carrera Shell with 1000F Auto-Darkening Filter, Black - Welding Helmets - Amazon.com

ArcOne 1000F-0100 Professional Grade Welding Helmet Carrera Shell with 1000F Auto-Darkening Filter, Black - Welding Helmets - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[mrpriceisright]

What kind of welder should I get for beginner and what to look for in one
There was one welder I saw which could do mig and stick

I can't find any reviews on that model or say I've heard of Grizzly.

For that price point, I would consider an Eastwood MP250I Welder 120/240V MIG TIG Arc/Stick ($750 at amazon). that would be a full multiprocess machine and a bit better known brand (with a few reviews on amazon) - or perhaps an equiv Everlast. more amps and mig/tig/stick for about the same $ and something you are unlikely to outgrow.

Amazon.com: Eastwood MP250I Welder 120/240V MIG TIG Arc/Stick Weld Stainless Normal Steel: Automotive

Buy Eastwood MP250I Welder 120/240V MIG TIG Arc/Stick Weld Stainless Normal Steel: TIG Welding Equipment - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

It used to be quite unusual to have a mig/stick machine (mig being constant voltage (cv) vs stick being CC) but I guess that has changed.

I have a thermal arc 181i inverter mp welder which I really like, easy to move, use and a professional brand (Esab/TA). I believe it is now sold as the Firepower MST 180i 3-in-1 by Esab. I've used it on all three processes and just added a remote finger control for Tig (similar to a pedal).

 

[retnev]

What kind of welder should I get for beginner and what to look for in one

I weld mainly with TIG, a little less with MIG and about no stick.
Stick basically disappeared for me being able to do both MIG and TIG and I have no use for it with what I do.
Mig is just way better for me than stick and actually easier to weld, IF the MIG is a good machine.

My suggestion and advice:
Find out first exactly what you would be doing most. If you are going to do mostly aluminum and precious metals, then TIG is your primary source, then MIG. If you are going to do a lot of inside corner work, then MIG is your ticket.
If you will be doing a lot of flat Precious Metal work and outside edges and corners then TIG is the ticket.

If you will be doing steel mainly, then MIG would be the way to go. Buy a good wire feed MIG with a Gas capability. With Gas you can do precious metals too.
Fluxcore go a long way to do fancy gassless MIG worik.

If you are not willing to buy a good MIG then and only then just buy a stick.
An ordinary cheap stick on steel will be way better than a cheepo garbage MIG such as Lincoln makes.
I started with two Lincolns and they were so bad that I will never use the brand again. I now only use HTP and Miller that runs rings around the Lincolns at a lower price and better portability.
Use user groups to find the best affordable MIG. Only buy taking advice from users and not manufacturers.

Again a bad MIG or TIG will ruin you and you wont develop, where a STICK is the cheapest way to get things done and even cheepo sticks can do a way better job than a mediocre more expensive MIG.

That is basically I think what the other poster above wisely tried to convey to you without explanation.

 

[harleyron74]

Why do you think it is such a poor welder? Is it because it is 110v?

I suspect it being A 110V is the main problem. My former employer's Miller is A 220V and lays down A bead like butter on warm bread!
The Century was owned by Century when I bought it in the early 90's and support for it was iffy then and non existent now.
Good for spot welding sheet metal on cars/truck's but even 3/16" is above it's capacity.

 

[welding seabee]

Lincoln owns Century brand. They have limited support but do have the manuals, just got one from them.

Ron

 

[Drew G]

Any recommendations on cheap but functional helmets? Would be a started but I don;t want to waste money buying a second one if the first just doesn't cover basic welding needs.

If you get their military discount, the Kobalt at Lowe’s is a good helmet! Or a Harbor Freight coupon with the Vulcan wide view.